Dr. Michael Kaplan, Chief Medical Officer of The Center for Medical Weight Loss, discusses how important weight loss is for diabetic patients, and the Catch-22 for many on diabetes medications.

People with diabetes are at a higher risk for conditions that cause vision loss or blindness than other people, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA). If you have diabetes, you can take steps to reduce your risk for vision loss or blindness. Diabetes can cause the following eye disorders.

Diabetes can lead to glaucoma. Glaucoma is a condition in which the optic nerve is damaged, leading to vision loss. It is caused by a poorly understood group of diseases. Most, but not all, of these diseases cause an increase in intraocular pressure, or pressure inside the eye ball. According to the ADA, people with diabetes are 40 percent more likely to suffer from glaucoma than people without diabetes….. (more…)

The immediate goal of treatment is to lower high blood glucose levels. The long-term goals of treatment are to prevent diabetes-related complications. The primary treatment for type 2 diabetes is exercise and diet. You should learn basic diabetes management skills. They will help prevent complications and the need for medical care….. (more…)

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic (lifelong) disease marked by high levels of sugar (glucose) in the blood. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. Often, people with type 2 diabetes have no symptoms at all. If you do have symptoms, they may include: Blurred vision, erectile dysfunction, fatigue, frequent or slow-healing infections, increased appetite, increased thirst, increased urination….. (more…)

Australian scientists looked for the reason why people with Hepatitis C often go on to develop diabetes, and they made an unexpected discovery.

The heightened risk of type 2 diabetes was thought to be linked to fat build-up in the liver caused by their Hep C, but tests on people with the blood-borne virus found something else was awry.

The Garvan Institute of Medical Research study confirmed the 29 study participants all had ‘high insulin resistance’ – a precursor to diabetes – but the problem was traced to their muscle and not their livers…. (more…)

ETALING JAYA, March 8 (Bernama) — Approximately one in 10 adults worldwide suffer from some form of kidney damage and every year millions die as a result of kidney failure caused by diabetes.

Kidney failure is the final stage of chronic kidney disease (CKD), a serious condition where the kidneys could no longer rid the body of wastes.

CKD is present when individuals have an increase in the excretion of albumin in the urine or a major decrease in kidney function.

In Malaysia more than 3,500 people develop end stage renal failure every year, giving rise to the number of patients requiring dialysis.

According to the president of Malaysian Society of Nephrology (MSN) Dr Philip N. Jeremiah, CKD affects about eight to 10 per cent of the population and currently the number of patients requiring dialysis in Malaysia is growing by 5 to 7 per cent annually…. (more…)

Diabetes interferes with the way the body processes the sugar glucose, the body’s main source of energy. When all is going well, cells absorb glucose from the blood stream after we’ve eaten and use it as fuel, or pack it away for future use. Insulin, produced by the pancreas, orchestrates the process. With diabetes, the process breaks down, and glucose start to builds up in the blood.

There are three types of diabetes:

- Type 1, usually diagnosed in children and adolescents, is caused when the body can’t produce insulin. The body’s immune system or environmental factors are believed to trigger Type 1, which accounts for 10 per cent of diabetes….. (more…)

HOUSTON – A major development in helping children with Juvenile, or Type 1, Diabetes. The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation announces an artificial pancreas is now being developed and is expected to change and save lives.

JDRF is partnering with Johnson & Johnson’s Animas Corporation, to develop the first artificial pancreas. 

We found a mother in Sugar Land, who has been volunteering and raising money for JDRF, to go specifically toward funding the new device. Lisa Brettman’s 16-year old son, Trevor, has been dealing with Type 1 Diabetes most of his life….. (more…)